Kettering pub’s concern over live music restrictions

Huw Silk

The manager of a Kettering’s oldest pub says the venue has concerns over restrictions on live music being played there.

Kettering Borough Council’s environmental health department have this week said the volume should be reduced on live music being played at the Cherry Tree, in George Street and just off the Market Place.

The authority was acting after a complaint from a resident of a nearby flat.

But the decision has provoked a strong reaction online, with people taking to social media to organise their opposition to the move. An online petition has also been set up, attracting hundreds of signatures already.

Gary Heronsby-Smith, the manager of the Cherry Tree, said there would be protests in the town this weekend and next week, adding: “They’ve not heard the last of us.

“The Cherry Tree is a culture, it’s a meeting place, it’s a social club, it’s a whole community.

“There’s been live music here for at least 40 years – this has all been stopped.

“I run a jam session for families, for people to bring their kids down to learn how to play. That’s gone. Those kids have got nowhere know.”

Mr Heronsby-Smith said bands from across the UK and Europe had come to play at the pub, and added that he had had to cancel a band booked to come down from Liverpool this weekend.

By 11am today (Thursday) more than 1,200 people had signed a petition to voice their support for the Cherry Tree.